PETALING JAYA: With the education system one of the core focuses of the Barisan Nasional manifesto, the coalition is promising some radical changes which would, amongst others, reduce the cost of education in the country.

In unveiling the Barisan Nasional manifesto on Monday (Nov 7), the coalition’s chief Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the radical changes in the system will not only reduce the cost for care and education, but it is also a major investment which will ensure that early childhood care and education is given in the best possible way.

“May these radical changes be the starting point to our attempt to develop the cognitive ability of children so that they grow up to become a strong, intelligent and skilled generation,” he said.

At school level, Barisan is promising textbook-free schools with the provision of laptops to all B40 students. It has also pledged to expand 5G internet coverage and public Wi-Fi network to all schools within 18 months.

“This will help resolve issues such as heavy school bags and enable syllabuses to be updated faster and easily,” he said.

Early childhood care and education for all children aged six and below will be provided for free. This will substantially reduce the cost of living for young families.

It also aims to introduce the teaching of 21st-century smart skills such as programming (coding), creativity and basic communication languages such as Mandarin, Tamil, Iban, Kadazan, Dusun and other ethnic languages in all schools. It also wants to implement a dedicated educational program as a proactive intervention for students who were left behind during the Covid-19 pandemic.

On the higher education front, free higher education for all individuals from Bottom 40 (B40) families is part of Barisan Nasional’s manifesto for a long term poverty eradication plan.

The coalition is also promising full PTPTN loan coverage for students from the Middle 40 (M40) group and below.

PTPTN will also be turned into an “income-contingent” loan with repayment only starting a year into employment.

“Offer higher education vouchers funded by the government for intake into private higher education institutions (IPTS) as a measure to address the insufficient intake capacity of public higher education institutions (IPTA),” it said.

The PTPTN will also be transformed into a foundation which will be funded through community endowments and donations.

Barisan also wants to reduce the cost of higher education by up to 50% through the implementation of a flexible higher education system, which encompasses 50% campus learning and 50% online and distance learning.